As we end our 4th week of Public Schools of Brookline ("PSB") and Heath Extended Day Program ("HEDP") closures, we would like to touch base and provide all of you with an update. We are continuing to follow the MA state and federal guidelines. As of today, they are still maintaining that all public schools will re-open on May 4th. I think we will all be thrilled if that happens.

In the meantime, the HEDP Board members unanimously voted to continue to pay our smart, talented and valuable teaching staff through the end of the 2019-20 school year, regardless the return date. Our expectations of our teachers are to continue to be in contact with your children, providing them with activities, projects, and zoom times to connect as a group each week. Your teachers should be reaching out to you, if they have not yet done so, with a survey asking what else you would like to get out of your virtual HEDP experience. Please try to complete this survey as thoroughly as possible, as we are all learning and trying new things and your input is invaluable to us.

The HEDP has also applied for the Payroll Protection Plan offering small businesses loans to continue to pay employees and cover other fixed business expenses during the COVID-19 crisis. We hope to learn whether we have been approved within the next 1-2 weeks. Within that time frame, should the return date to school be extended again, the Board will reconvene to discuss tuition options for the remainder of the school year.

We know this is a challenging time for everyone. We hope that you are all doing well and will continue to update you as we gather new information about the program. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any of our Staff or Board members directly with any questions and/or concerns. We are all working hard to ensure your children continue to be cared for as best as possible.

​Here is the donation link for our program. We are currently not charging tuition but are committed to keeping teaching team employed. Therefore, we are asking for donations to help bring balance to both families and teachers during this difficult time. Thank you for taking the time to show your continued support.

2/3 April 2020During the first half of the month of March the children had the opportunity to participate in weekly clubs, if they choose to do so. On Tuesday afternoons the Reader started reading the book Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog written by Emily Arnold McCully.from 4:00-4:30 p.m. On Wednesdays 4:30pm - 5:30pm Nick hosted a large game of floor hockey open. Ellie co-host a group with former HEDP student Stefano on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. During the “Surprises with Stefano '' the group played bingo and started still life drawings on canvas. During the second half of the month the Teaching Team put on their creative hats to help the children remain engaged after the school district announced a mandatory shut down. This included a Fun Fact for children to ponder on Mondays, Tuesdays Time with Diana along with a weekly Rebus puzzle that encourage the children to use their logic skills, Wednesday’s Hump Day Jokes, Interactive Zoom Bingo games, Thursday’s Nick show and tell sharing,cooking activities, and 5:00-5:30 Strong Heart Read Aloud with Ellie and BarbaraFay using Zoom. The Teaching Team is looking forward to reuniting with the children in the classroom on May 4th. Prior to the school closure the children had earned their first Wish Day of the year by doing so many kind acts that the paperclip chain touched the floor. The scheduled wish day was canceled, but will be one of our highest priorities to reschedule upon return to school. Within days of starting the new Kindness Paperclip chain the children had already earned about ten clips towards their next day by doing so many kind acts. The 2/3 Team plans to continue to offer Fun Fact and Craft Monday, Time with Diana on Tuesday, Joke Day Wednesday and Game Day on Zoom with Ellie from 5:00-5:30 p.m., Thursday share that you care day with Nick and finally the readers will join the group on Friday afternoons from 5:00-5:30 p.m. to resume reading the book Strongheart. We are looking forward to having a fun filled April.The 2-3 Teaching Team is dedicated to providing your child with the best HEDP from Home experience. We are hoping to gain a greater insight to what your child interests as we develop curriculum in the coming weeks. Please click on the link below and complete the survey. As always we appreciate your input.https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=om1#inbox/FMfcgxwHMZQrXxgNLgfJchlztgQGlgrS

Have a great month! ~ Diana, Ellie, Nick

2/3 Weekly HEDP from Home ScheduleThis schedule is constantly changing as we are adding to the schedule everyday in hopes of bringing your child the best HEDP from Home experience possible.Monday

9:00 a.m. -email what to expect for the week to parents, fun fact of the day, and craft projects for the week.Tuesday9:00 a.m. email Rebus activity

Hello 4/6 students and families,We hope that everyone is healthy, happy, and enjoying this unexpected break as much as possible. We understand that many of you may be starting to find this time off a little dull. Few friends around, lots of indoor time, no gym to use, and no daily challenges...its a bummer. Not to worry, Heath extended day is here to help! Over the course of these next few weeks, your 4/6 teachers will be sending out activities for you and your families to do. The schedule of these activities will be as follows:Mondays: Daily Challenges. We will send out all 5 daily challenges for the week in a Google Form for you to complete. Just like in extended day, do not look up the answers or ask others (especially your knowledgeable parents) for answers. Your parents will receive the google form on Monday and you may fill out the entire week’s worth of challenges at any time throughout the week. Please complete the week’s worth of challenges by Friday at 6pm on the google form. We will keep track of how many each of you get correct and you will be awarded your pieces of candy when we return to school. Have fun!Wednesdays: Multi-Media Day. On Wednesday mornings, we will send a video, activity, or other special challenge for you to complete. Please use Wednesday to take part in this multi-media day. You can email back your responses (to heathextendedday@gmail.com) by Wednesdays at 6:00pm. We will keep track of correct responses and award you your prizes when you return from school.Fridays: Family weekend Fun. On Fridays, we will send you an activity/contest you can do with your family over the weekend. Look for special instructions to each activity/contest. This week’s activity is family BINGO, which is attached as a pdf with this email. Print it out and give it a try!We are looking forward to seeing your responses to all of these fun activities! Until Monday,Malaina, Emily, and Brad​